diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index de871cf99f78..3a09a2411435 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@ COMMAND="mvn --projects $MODULE --also-make ${@:2}"
 echo "Running: $COMMAND"
 
 $COMMAND
-
+BUILDEXITCODE=$?
 # these don't work on their own, so delete them to avoid confusion:
 rm languagetool-standalone/target/languagetool-standalone-*.jar 2> /dev/null
 rm languagetool-wikipedia/target/languagetool-wikipedia-*.jar 2> /dev/null
 rm languagetool-commandline/target/languagetool-commandline-*.jar 2> /dev/null
+exit $BUILDEXITCODE